Water softening systems can reduce the calcium and magnesium content in your household plumbing. These and other elements cause water to become hard. Hardness can lead to various problems when limescale build up in your pipes and plumbing fixtures. Hard ions also does not interact well with soap in your washer, dishwasher and when you shower.
Typical home water softening appliances depend on an ion exchange resin wherein hard ions are replaced with sodium ions which soften liquid. Hard water causes a lot of problems with your plumbing and home appliances but can also be beneficial to your health by providing your body with magnesium and calcium and by reducing the solubility of toxic metals such as copper and lead.
Water softening methods usually rely on removing calcium and magnesium with the use of a solution or by replacing hard ions with sodium. By removing the hard ions, the liquid that runs through your household plumbing are unable to form limescale deposits that block your pipes and build up in your coffee makers and shower heaters.
You can also remove hard ions by distilling your water, but this proves to be way too expensive for household use. Softening systems can do this for you the cheap way. Sodium, the main and most common softening ingredient is readily available everywhere. You can find sodium resin and beads at a hardware store or at the supermarket.
Once your water is softened, your soap and detergent will dissolve easily in your dishwasher or laundry washer. You will get cleaner glassware and clothing. Even your bath soap and shampoo will lather better and you can feel cleaner after each bath. Home appliances that use water like a coffee maker of shower heater will last longer and work efficiently.
Water is softened in a water softening system by letting it pass through a bed of resin beads made from sodium or salt. Negative charged resins absorb metal ions which are replaced with soft ions that are released into the water. The positive ions found in sodium beads are also found in other elements like hydrogen and potassium.
Potassium should be used in households where people are on a salt restricted diet. There are also other resins that can be used with your water softening system that also absorb carbonate, sulphate and bi-carbonate ions. These kinds of resins release hydroxyl ions. These resin beads can be used in conjunction with sodium softening beads.
Before purchasing a water softener for your home, find out what you need from your machine. If you have people at home who have heart or kidney problems, then you should stick to potassium softeners and avoid using sodium. If you have metals in your water, then add other resins that can also get rid of these harmful metals.
For any further questions on softeners give us a call at 4032797554 or visit us at www.bakerplumbing.ca 
